FSN To Air FLW Kingfish Tour Event From Venice

One-hour show to highlight $300,000 king mackerel tournament

by: Jeff McCoy, PR dir, FLW Outdoors

(Sep. 16, 2008 - Minneapolis, MN)
Tune in Sunday, Sept. 21, to "FLW Outdoors"on FSN for complete coverage of the Walmart FLW Kingfish Tour event held in Venice, La. The second tournament of the $1.7 million season concludes with the winning team claiming a cash prize of $50,000.
The "FLW Outdoors" saltwater series is a reality-format show told from the anglers' perspective. Each week the top-five finalists are followed from takeoff to weigh-in, allowing the audience to feel the anglers' nerves, listen to their strategy and learn from their mistakes. The stories evolve and the suspense grows throughout the one-hour show until the final weigh-in results are announced.
FLW Kingfish Tour qualifying tournaments are three-day events. The entire field competes on day one and day two and the top five teams compete on day three. The winning team is determined based on the heaviest kingfish from day one or day two plus the heaviest kingfish from day three.
After the second day of competition, Team Chevy/Miss Micki 2 owns the lead with a 51-pound, 15-ounce king mackerel that was caught on day one. The team, captained by Ricky Rowland of Raleigh, N.C., fished about 45 miles west of the Mississippi River Delta and caught the giant fish near a drilling rig in 170 feet of water. The big king ate a dead ribbonfish on a downrigger at 85 feet deep. Rowland's wife Shannon handled the rod duty and endured a couple of long runs before the fish was finally gaffed by crewmember Bill McLamb. With a 51-pound king on ice, Team Chevy/Miss Micki 2 did not fish on day two and instead used the time for preparation and scouting for the final round.
Team Folgers, captained by David Kingery of Melbourne, Fla., is in second place after catching a 45-pound, 11-ounce king on day two. Kingery, along with crewmembers Kyle Walsh and Randy Truitt, both of West Melbourne, Fla., ran about 35 miles west and caught their fish on a live blue runner - shortly before a nasty storm blew through the West Delta. In their Kingfish Tour career, Team Folgers has accumulated four top-10 finishes and one victory. That win took place in 2006 in Fort Pierce, Fla., and Kingery and crew are eager to return to the winner's circle.
Capt. Randy Griffin and his North Carolina-based Team M&M's found a 44-pound, 8-ounce kingfish and fed him a sweet blue runner that melted in his mouth, not in his hands. Running past the 50-mile mark in the West Delta, Griffin's team fished in approximately 150 feet of water. Griffin caught the fish, and crewmember Jack Wood handled the gaff. Like Team Folgers, Team M&M's also has a Kingfish Tour win to their name. Griffin and crew won the 2007 Kingfish Tour event held in Fort Pierce - so they know what it takes to claim victory.
FSN broadcasts "FLW Outdoors" Sunday mornings. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area.
FSN is broadcast to more than 81 million homes through its network of 20 regional sports channels. Established in 1996, FSN is the only cable network that supplies national, regional and local sports programming. FSN serves as the cable TV home to 62 of the 82 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States, and produces more than 4,500 live events each year. FSN has an extensive catalog of original national programs, including "Best Damn Sports Show Period"and "Beyond the Glory"documentary series, along with national packages of collegiate sports. Based in Los Angeles, FSN is part of the vast FOX Sports television family.
"FLW Outdoors"is also broadcast internationally to more than 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.